Equine Alchemy’s Coaching Elements

A foundational part of our Coach Training is exploring and knowing the difference between ‘implicit and explicit knowing.

Student Liz Cutting describes it this way…”Removing the ego from our interpretation of events appears an impossible feat, as it means changing a long-lived habit. It’s especially difficult since our “reality” is subjective by nature. How do we reframe and choose our perception and response to different events? Guidance on opening to and trusting the feelings coming from the heart and gut provides us with new perspective that is like giving birth to new parts of ourselves… the parts we have treated more like “it” or maybe an enemy to resist, rather than a part of us which is wise and compassionate beyond our current belief.

The coach’s critical role as a catalyst for this shift means the limbic areas of their brains must be engaged as much as the client’s. Striving to come from a place of “resonance” rather than “inference”, we can flow with our clients in the present and let go of any pre-conceived filters we might otherwise overlay on a situation.

While implicit knowledge sources intuition from direct experience, explicit knowledge is rooted in study, education, experiences of others. Like reading a book, explicit knowledge is not experiential but rather second hand. Explicit learning takes place in the intellect rather than the heart and the gut brain. It’s what most people think of as learning and what we’re primarily tested on in school – “book learning” through conscious effort.”